AN INTERIOR designer from Darlington has been awarded £3,000 for her winning design for a £1m penthouse apartment.

Grace Moulder, 22, won the National Design Academy’s (NDA) prestigious competition last summer and after a year of hard work her creation was unveiled on May 31, where she was given the cheque.

The Teesside University graduate was picked to carry out the re-design of the rooms, which are based in the River Crescent apartments in Nottingham from more than 500 entries.

She had £100,000 to spend on the apartment’s furnishings. She said: "I had a look at the other River Crescent apartments and they were based around famous designers like Paul Smith, Chanel and Hugo Boss; I focussed mine around Dior by using simple clear streamlines and a classic mineral colour palette.

“The main apartment area was a huge open space, so I created a layout that had clearly defined zones by using shapes and materials to mould them and I used key focal points to draw people in with a bit a 'wow' factor."

Owner of the Penthouse, Ian Roberts, said: “The quality, innovation and creativity of the short listed entries exceeded my expectations and selecting a single winner was very difficult.

“I congratulate the winner Grace Moulder and thank her for helping to create this world class interior to a breathtaking apartment.”

Miss Moulder, who is originally from Cockerton Village, Darlington, is now working as a trainee stylist and designer at Vogue Interiors in Warwickshire.